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new 24 inch imacs all have a significant monitor problem?
- Thread starter isuandrew
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I took my 24in Imac in to the apple store earlier tonight before they closed... I had made an appointment with the genius bar. I was told over the phone that if there was a problem that they could switch it out at the store.
I showed the tech guy what the screen problem looked like and it took him a while and a little convincing to get him to see what I was talking about. He told me that it was not a big enough deal to constitute being able to replace it with another computer because as far as he could tell, it was "within spec." After asking him what exactly "within spec" constitutes he asked me if I used the computer for color work, after I said yes he pulled over another person working at the genius bar over to get his opinion. "I'm more of an audio guy, this guy does work with photography so lets see what he says...."
This other guy sees the problem pretty quickly. He explained that all monitors are different and that all lcd's have inconsistencies, I told him I understood that but that I don't think that this is just a normal inconsistency, instead of telling me there was nothing they could do he offered to pull another computer out and open it up and he could let me compare it to mine and decide which one I want to take home, he stressed that he would only be able to do this with one other computer and I would have to decide, and he stressed even more so that this other computer might still have the same problem. I had shown them that website that displays the problem so it's easy to see, and asked if I could look around the store at the display Imacs and open this website on them to see how they compare before we try to open up another box.
I went to one of the display models, after opening safari, I was overjoyed to see that I couldn't outright see a big change in brightness from left to right. I then typed http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/#angleGrey into the address bar and the test came up and I could tell that this computer has the same problem mine has, it was not as drastic as mine but it was still there..... I preceded around to 4 other Imacs in the store and did this with all of them and ALL of them showed similar results, none of them where as drastic as mine was, but I could still see the bright to dark and cool to warm from left to right. Only one of the Imacs I saw out of the 5 display models I looked at would I deem as acceptable, it was extremely close, but it was just still off in the same exact way the others were, only it was pretty subtle.
I decided to add some controls to the experiment, I went first to the 20" imacs, ran the same website test, they showed change from top to bottom and when tilting the screen up and down, but when I moved the window around the screen from left to right, there was no noticeable color or brightness differences in monitor, and believe me I looked really hard here and absolutely no sign of my 24" problem for any of the 20inches I looked at.... then when on to the macpros and got the same things, normal changes in brightness etc from top to bottom, but no sign of what I'm dealing with.
It was getting close to closing and the people at the genius bar were probably wondering where I was so I went back, I took a look at my screen and told them that I would like to open up another computer and compare the two (my computer was the the worst of all I'd seen that day, so it can't hurt to try to get a improved one). But then they told me that they couldn't swap mine out with another because I had ordered the wireless mouse with mine and that changes things because now my computer is deemed a custom configuration and in order to do a swap they would have to fill out a sheet explaining what was out of spec with the first one and that they both agree that mine is within spec. The store was closing and I didn't want to be a jerk and try to push for anything so I just decided that I can come back some other time after I've thought things over.
Just to get everything straight, I didn't ever myself say that every imac had this problem, I was just stating that it might be a possibility, that's why the name of this thread "new 24 inch imacs all have a significant monitor problem?" has a question mark at the end of it..... I don't know, maybe I should have been more clear, anyway, here are a few things that I do know for sure:
1. My 24" aluminum imac has this problem.
2. Five (all that was available to look at at the time) different 24" aluminum imacs in the apple store had this same problem, some are more significant that others, one was pretty subtle, but all were noticeable while looking at http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/#angleGrey
3. The other computers I've looked at in the store, as well as some older imacs that I've seen do not seem to have this problem as I can notice.
4. Other people "have claimed" to have gotten a replacement/multiple replacements without this same issue being resolved.
Some conclusions (only possibilities) I make:
either:
1. All 24inch aluminum imacs do in fact have this problem, there is something in the way they are all built that effect the screen in a way that causes this issue. Granted, some are more noticeable than others, maybe most are not noticeable at all which would be ok if that's the case. And I don't think I would have noticed it, unless I was in the field I'm in and pay very close attention to these things, plus, I think it is very possible that most people wouldn't notice my screen being off much less other screens where I could only see the change reallywell after I used the test (this is what I believe but I know that doesn't mean I'm correct.)
2. Maybe a large batch (or a couple of batches) of imacs went out that have this problem and there are other batches out there that simply do not have this problem. Maybe this could explain the problem that when we return the imacs with problems to the place we got them from we get more imacs with the same problems from the same batch from the same place. Maybe all of the imacs in the store on display also come from the same defective batch.
3. Maybe I've written too much in this post.
I showed the tech guy what the screen problem looked like and it took him a while and a little convincing to get him to see what I was talking about. He told me that it was not a big enough deal to constitute being able to replace it with another computer because as far as he could tell, it was "within spec." After asking him what exactly "within spec" constitutes he asked me if I used the computer for color work, after I said yes he pulled over another person working at the genius bar over to get his opinion. "I'm more of an audio guy, this guy does work with photography so lets see what he says...."
This other guy sees the problem pretty quickly. He explained that all monitors are different and that all lcd's have inconsistencies, I told him I understood that but that I don't think that this is just a normal inconsistency, instead of telling me there was nothing they could do he offered to pull another computer out and open it up and he could let me compare it to mine and decide which one I want to take home, he stressed that he would only be able to do this with one other computer and I would have to decide, and he stressed even more so that this other computer might still have the same problem. I had shown them that website that displays the problem so it's easy to see, and asked if I could look around the store at the display Imacs and open this website on them to see how they compare before we try to open up another box.
I went to one of the display models, after opening safari, I was overjoyed to see that I couldn't outright see a big change in brightness from left to right. I then typed http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/#angleGrey into the address bar and the test came up and I could tell that this computer has the same problem mine has, it was not as drastic as mine but it was still there..... I preceded around to 4 other Imacs in the store and did this with all of them and ALL of them showed similar results, none of them where as drastic as mine was, but I could still see the bright to dark and cool to warm from left to right. Only one of the Imacs I saw out of the 5 display models I looked at would I deem as acceptable, it was extremely close, but it was just still off in the same exact way the others were, only it was pretty subtle.
I decided to add some controls to the experiment, I went first to the 20" imacs, ran the same website test, they showed change from top to bottom and when tilting the screen up and down, but when I moved the window around the screen from left to right, there was no noticeable color or brightness differences in monitor, and believe me I looked really hard here and absolutely no sign of my 24" problem for any of the 20inches I looked at.... then when on to the macpros and got the same things, normal changes in brightness etc from top to bottom, but no sign of what I'm dealing with.
It was getting close to closing and the people at the genius bar were probably wondering where I was so I went back, I took a look at my screen and told them that I would like to open up another computer and compare the two (my computer was the the worst of all I'd seen that day, so it can't hurt to try to get a improved one). But then they told me that they couldn't swap mine out with another because I had ordered the wireless mouse with mine and that changes things because now my computer is deemed a custom configuration and in order to do a swap they would have to fill out a sheet explaining what was out of spec with the first one and that they both agree that mine is within spec. The store was closing and I didn't want to be a jerk and try to push for anything so I just decided that I can come back some other time after I've thought things over.
Just to get everything straight, I didn't ever myself say that every imac had this problem, I was just stating that it might be a possibility, that's why the name of this thread "new 24 inch imacs all have a significant monitor problem?" has a question mark at the end of it..... I don't know, maybe I should have been more clear, anyway, here are a few things that I do know for sure:
1. My 24" aluminum imac has this problem.
2. Five (all that was available to look at at the time) different 24" aluminum imacs in the apple store had this same problem, some are more significant that others, one was pretty subtle, but all were noticeable while looking at http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/#angleGrey
3. The other computers I've looked at in the store, as well as some older imacs that I've seen do not seem to have this problem as I can notice.
4. Other people "have claimed" to have gotten a replacement/multiple replacements without this same issue being resolved.
Some conclusions (only possibilities) I make:
either:
1. All 24inch aluminum imacs do in fact have this problem, there is something in the way they are all built that effect the screen in a way that causes this issue. Granted, some are more noticeable than others, maybe most are not noticeable at all which would be ok if that's the case. And I don't think I would have noticed it, unless I was in the field I'm in and pay very close attention to these things, plus, I think it is very possible that most people wouldn't notice my screen being off much less other screens where I could only see the change reallywell after I used the test (this is what I believe but I know that doesn't mean I'm correct.)
2. Maybe a large batch (or a couple of batches) of imacs went out that have this problem and there are other batches out there that simply do not have this problem. Maybe this could explain the problem that when we return the imacs with problems to the place we got them from we get more imacs with the same problems from the same batch from the same place. Maybe all of the imacs in the store on display also come from the same defective batch.
3. Maybe I've written too much in this post.
I posted this on another thread, but it applies here as well.
I ordered a 24" iMac online that arrived at my home Monday. I booted it up that night and immediately noticed the gradient problem. Tuesday morning I called AppleCare and they wanted me to take it into the Apple Store to verify the problem. So I took it in, they saw the problem, and switched it out for a new computer even though I customized mine with a wireless Mighty Mouse. Took the second computer home, booted it up.... same problem. Thursday night I go back to the Apple Store and check out the 24" iMacs on display, and all of them had this problem. I go to the Genius Bar and luckily the same guy is there and helps me. He suggest we open it before I take it home this time, I agree, and he sets it up. I'm looking at it in the store and I notice the gradient but it doesn't look as bad as my other computers, so I take it. Well I get it home, boot it up and the problem is just as bad, and to top it off theirs a lot of backlight bleeding and a piece of dust under the glass. So I've had it at this point. I returned it for a full refund on Saturday and won't touch these iMacs with a hundred foot pole.
So yeah I believe it's quite a large scale problem... in fact I've yet to see a 24" iMac screen without any problems. Call me picky if you want, but every Mac Genius I talked to agreed it was problem, and took them back without question.
Don't take this sitting down isuandrew, because it is a problem. Go to another store if you can or send it back to Apple and tell them you can't get it verified at a store.
I ordered a 24" iMac online that arrived at my home Monday. I booted it up that night and immediately noticed the gradient problem. Tuesday morning I called AppleCare and they wanted me to take it into the Apple Store to verify the problem. So I took it in, they saw the problem, and switched it out for a new computer even though I customized mine with a wireless Mighty Mouse. Took the second computer home, booted it up.... same problem. Thursday night I go back to the Apple Store and check out the 24" iMacs on display, and all of them had this problem. I go to the Genius Bar and luckily the same guy is there and helps me. He suggest we open it before I take it home this time, I agree, and he sets it up. I'm looking at it in the store and I notice the gradient but it doesn't look as bad as my other computers, so I take it. Well I get it home, boot it up and the problem is just as bad, and to top it off theirs a lot of backlight bleeding and a piece of dust under the glass. So I've had it at this point. I returned it for a full refund on Saturday and won't touch these iMacs with a hundred foot pole.
So yeah I believe it's quite a large scale problem... in fact I've yet to see a 24" iMac screen without any problems. Call me picky if you want, but every Mac Genius I talked to agreed it was problem, and took them back without question.
Don't take this sitting down isuandrew, because it is a problem. Go to another store if you can or send it back to Apple and tell them you can't get it verified at a store.
I've sort of changed my tune because of an unfortunate incident I had.
First of all I do NOT change my original stance that not all 24" aluminum iMacs have gradient issues because I HAD one that did not. Unfortunately about a week back I noticed it had a different problem: a very faint diagonal line on the LCD about 4cm in length. It appears someone scratched the LCD panel at the factory. It was not on the glass panel. Aside from this very faint line which could only really be seen with very light background colors the display was excellent. If it had a "gradient" it was very very slight at best from left to right. There was no backlight bleed whatsoever. Still, it IS an imperfection and consiering how much I paid for this machine I decided to send it back to Apple.
Apple acknowledged the issue and replaced the LCD panel. I got the machine back yesterday.
Imagine my dismay when I powered up and saw a HORRIBLE left-to-right gradient! It is as bad as any I've seen with at least a 1.5 to 1 brightness ratio from left to right. With a white background the left side is brilliant white and then quickly descends into medium grey at the right. With a grey background it goes from grey at left to dark grey at right and yellow in the middle. It also has horrible backlight bleed issues.
I got right back on the phone with AppleCare just now and they set up another pickup of this machine and it's going back for LCD panel replacement. As I mentioned in another thread on these forums AppleCare at least here in Japan must acknowledge the issues I've stated and then resolve them. Obviously this means they should install a panel, confirm it does NOT have color gradation problems and backlight bleed and send it back. I will see what happens of course. I am not going to be pleased if they give me some crap like "there is no gradient" or just willy-nilly pop in another panel with similar problems and send it off.
I would much rather have my own panel back than this one at this point. Oh, and there IS a dust speck in the upper left hand corner as well.
So, I still say to the OP of this thread that he should not be so bold as to say that ALL 24" iMacs have gradient issues but the problem DOES exist and is widespread. There are good panels and I had one and I WILL get one again.
Thank you for sharing your (horror) story. Really, I didn't mean to jump down your throat and my only complaint was with the ALL iMacs bit. As you can see by my own story above I had one that I considered excellent quality until I noticed a slight (non-gradient) defect. Now, I'm looking at a display with a HORRID gradient and almost wish I had my old display back.
So, yes, this is not a problem in all 24" iMacs but in your defense it most certainly appears to be a widespread issue and on that front I was wrong. I have been very vocal in these forums that it was not a big problem since it wasn't getting major press and (selfishly) because I wasn't experiencing it myself.
Live and learn is the key here. Perhaps this is some sort of karmic event for me. I will get a good display again although I hope its this next time as I tire of sending my machine off to Tokyo on a weekly basis.
Peace, brother.
Just a quick addendum to this saga: I just realized (stupidly) that I was using the display calibration settings from my old iMac on this replacement panel. Running the expert calibration in system preferences improved things remarkably. I think I am still going to send this one back but the gradient is very much reduced now. It's still not as good as my old one was but MUCH better than I thought it was.
Very important: even if you are looking at these displays in the Apple Store I recommend you run through the expert calibration because if
it can improve those appearing to have severe gradients to minor ones I suspect it might completely cure those with what appear to be minor gradient problems that are not properly calibrated.
Even the backlight bleeding is much better now. It's still not good enough and is going back but if I get one with a very minor gradient I can calibrate out I will be satisfied.
Very important: even if you are looking at these displays in the Apple Store I recommend you run through the expert calibration because if
it can improve those appearing to have severe gradients to minor ones I suspect it might completely cure those with what appear to be minor gradient problems that are not properly calibrated.
Even the backlight bleeding is much better now. It's still not good enough and is going back but if I get one with a very minor gradient I can calibrate out I will be satisfied.
I bought my first mac less than two weeks ago, a 24" imac. The first one had the gradient problem, so I took it back and they exchanged it without questions. I brought it home, and IT had the gradient problem also, very noticeable.
Last night, I took it back, and they exchanged it again, though the "genius" mentioned in the beginning that he wasn't sure if they could exchange it a second time.
I brought the 3rd one home, and the gradient issue is much less now. However, this one seems to have the dreaded yellow tint issue.
It's not too noticeable unless your really looking for it, so I'm probably not going to return this one. But I will say that my opinion of Apple's quality has dropped quite a bit from this experience.
Last night, I took it back, and they exchanged it again, though the "genius" mentioned in the beginning that he wasn't sure if they could exchange it a second time.
I brought the 3rd one home, and the gradient issue is much less now. However, this one seems to have the dreaded yellow tint issue.
It's not too noticeable unless your really looking for it, so I'm probably not going to return this one. But I will say that my opinion of Apple's quality has dropped quite a bit from this experience.
I just got my 24" 2.8Ghz iMac today. The display is perfect, NO gradient at all. I ran it through those tests posted earlier. I also used several solid backgrounds and there is no gradient on this screen. I'm AMAZED by how quiet this machine is. My still working G4 tower sounds like a jet engine 
. I'm also impressed by some of the UI tweaks in Leo.
. I'm also impressed by some of the UI tweaks in Leo.Wow, nice to see so many responses, though not all in agreement with me. But thats OK. You have to speak your mind. I have been so busy with personal things happening that I didn't have time to respond right away. So here I go.
First I would like to say to SaSaSushi, that my writing was a bit strong. But I was tired, I shouldn't have used the phrase "all iMacs", perhaps "many" would have been better. I apologize.
Second, I have had, as some others noted, a great experience with Apples customer service support. By far better than any other retailer/manufacturer that I have ever experienced. I mean that, I put them through the mill.
I had the wonderful experience of being able to go to a store and be offered to open an iMax box and check the screen out before accepting the purchase. All this was done via my personal rep at Apple. Needless to say that I got a very acceptable iMac with a great screen that was just about as good as I have seen. The store and my Rep did an excellent job in satisfying me and they didn't make one mistake with all the crediting etc to my account that had to take place. I got the same discounts I had received on my original purchase.
Since purchasing my iMac, I have noticed at the large Apple store were I bought my last iMac, that the screens were largely free from the gradient issues. Perhaps Apple got it ironed out. I go every week to the Apple store for my one to one. Another nice touch by Apple.
I even purchased an older white iMac 24 inch 2.13 ghz for my young daughter, she thinks its prettier than mine. It has no screen issues and it works just wonderfully, I upgraded it to Leopard without a hitch.
Lastly, I would advise people who want to purchase an iMac to go ahead and buy one. Most likely you will be very happy. If not happy immediately, they have a great customer service team to help you out, bar none. I would hate to see anyone miss out on experiencing a Mac and its fantastic OS and reliabiltiy. I use mine extensively and I have not had an issue yet, other than one website that Safari couldn't find the server for. Though you could use firefox if not satisfied. I love the speed of Safari and the overall feel and elegance of OS 10.5.2. It starts up so fast, shuts down fast, has a much easier and more practical organizational sense about it than Windows XP or Vista.
Also, the people over at Applecare are helpful. I called them on some technical questions and they were polite and helpful. If they can't get you the answer you at that moment, they will escalate while you are on with them and get you an answer or steps to resolve an issue.
I am one happy camper with my new iMac and OS. Did I mention that I was a PC user since the inception of the personal computer. Well, not any longer. Won't return either. Why go back to misery. Thats all I have to say for now. See ya.
First I would like to say to SaSaSushi, that my writing was a bit strong. But I was tired, I shouldn't have used the phrase "all iMacs", perhaps "many" would have been better. I apologize.
Second, I have had, as some others noted, a great experience with Apples customer service support. By far better than any other retailer/manufacturer that I have ever experienced.
I mean that, I put them through the mill.I had the wonderful experience of being able to go to a store and be offered to open an iMax box and check the screen out before accepting the purchase. All this was done via my personal rep at Apple. Needless to say that I got a very acceptable iMac with a great screen that was just about as good as I have seen. The store and my Rep did an excellent job in satisfying me and they didn't make one mistake with all the crediting etc to my account that had to take place. I got the same discounts I had received on my original purchase.
Since purchasing my iMac, I have noticed at the large Apple store were I bought my last iMac, that the screens were largely free from the gradient issues. Perhaps Apple got it ironed out. I go every week to the Apple store for my one to one. Another nice touch by Apple.
I even purchased an older white iMac 24 inch 2.13 ghz for my young daughter, she thinks its prettier than mine. It has no screen issues and it works just wonderfully, I upgraded it to Leopard without a hitch.
Lastly, I would advise people who want to purchase an iMac to go ahead and buy one. Most likely you will be very happy. If not happy immediately, they have a great customer service team to help you out, bar none. I would hate to see anyone miss out on experiencing a Mac and its fantastic OS and reliabiltiy. I use mine extensively and I have not had an issue yet, other than one website that Safari couldn't find the server for. Though you could use firefox if not satisfied. I love the speed of Safari and the overall feel and elegance of OS 10.5.2. It starts up so fast, shuts down fast, has a much easier and more practical organizational sense about it than Windows XP or Vista.
Also, the people over at Applecare are helpful. I called them on some technical questions and they were polite and helpful. If they can't get you the answer you at that moment, they will escalate while you are on with them and get you an answer or steps to resolve an issue.
I am one happy camper with my new iMac and OS. Did I mention that I was a PC user since the inception of the personal computer. Well, not any longer. Won't return either. Why go back to misery. Thats all I have to say for now. See ya.
I have a couple of questions regarding this. I just purchased my 24" iMac and can see a "very" faint gradient brightness from left to right. So little that it is not even really distracting or visible with everything on the screen.
The question is considering how faint this is on my iMac could a calibration set the things right?
What is the best way to calibrate?
I don't want to make things worse as the problem isn't great. If I calibrate can I default back to the original settings?
I am reluctant to send it to the store for fear I'll get another one that is worse or they won't fix anything. Is this even reparable by the store?
The question is considering how faint this is on my iMac could a calibration set the things right?
What is the best way to calibrate?
I don't want to make things worse as the problem isn't great. If I calibrate can I default back to the original settings?
I am reluctant to send it to the store for fear I'll get another one that is worse or they won't fix anything. Is this even reparable by the store?
All displays should be calibrated. SuperCal is an excellent calibration utility.
No LCD screen is perfect and if I were you I would not worry about a very minor gradient. Some folks were reporting 2.5 times brightness difference from left to right on their 24" iMacs. If you have a gradient that obvious and severe I would definitely advise you send it back to Apple for replacement.
In fact if you have a gradient that is obvious at ALL and bothers you I would advise sending it back.
Just remember, no LCD is perfect so if the one you have now is very good you may get one back with a worse gradient and/or dead or stuck pixels.
I had the LCD panel on mine replaced by Apple last month because of a scratch I noticed on the panel (as I discussed above). Initially I thought the replacement panel had a bad gradient but I began to notice that after warming up for 15 or 20 minutes the gradient I thought I saw had dissipated. Over a few weeks it was much less pronounced even cold on startup. I am very happy with the new LCD panel now.
Hi everyone,
For start, let me just say that I am proud to be one of you guys who can own a 24" Al iMac. Love the machine. Mine was fine for a good 5-month period, then I had some kind of liquid stain floating out from the backlight, so I sent it in to an Apple store here, a genius took it and gladly offered to replace the LCD panel no question asked.
There were some hiccups in between but long story short, I took home the iMac with a replacement screen and found out I now fully in your group. My screen has the gradient problem. I even tried that LCD test pattern in the store on five 24" iMacs. In my experience, 4 out of 5 has that problem, but I would say 2 of them are in an acceptable level. There is one unit that I'd call good quality. So, 20% is top notch, 40% okay, 40% not okay. But mine was worse than all five of them. Imagine that.
Anyway, Apple Store took in the iMac and promised to replace the LCD panel. Hope it goes well.
For start, let me just say that I am proud to be one of you guys who can own a 24" Al iMac. Love the machine. Mine was fine for a good 5-month period, then I had some kind of liquid stain floating out from the backlight, so I sent it in to an Apple store here, a genius took it and gladly offered to replace the LCD panel no question asked.
There were some hiccups in between but long story short, I took home the iMac with a replacement screen and found out I now fully in your group. My screen has the gradient problem. I even tried that LCD test pattern in the store on five 24" iMacs. In my experience, 4 out of 5 has that problem, but I would say 2 of them are in an acceptable level. There is one unit that I'd call good quality. So, 20% is top notch, 40% okay, 40% not okay. But mine was worse than all five of them. Imagine that.
Anyway, Apple Store took in the iMac and promised to replace the LCD panel. Hope it goes well.
Sorry to hear about the gradient in your replacement panel but your description of the "liquid stain" intrigues me because this was exactly my experience and I only noticed it about 5 months into use as well. I had convinced myself it must have been there the whole time but now that I think about it it could not have. I gave the screen a THOROUGH examination upon unboxing with PixelCheck looking for dead/stuck pixels. I would have seen it. It just seemed to come out of nowhere.
I wonder if this is also a common defect on the 24" aluminum iMacs. Could it be condensation related or something? The summer here is brutally humid even though I mostly have the A/C going. Like your case Apple quickly replaced my LCD panel with no questions asked once they saw the "stain".
As I said above it was the strangest thing for me. I thought it had a terrible gradient when I first started it but it got better after warming up and now it isn't even there cold. I still may have to return this one though because it has intermittent backlight flickering. I run at 50% brightness level and when the flickering starts the only way to stop it is to set the backlight to full power. I took a video of it. Now I am just procrastinating sending it in because it's such a hassle. The flickering only occurs very infrequently and usually after using certain apps (like watching HD movies with OSXBMC). It seems like the sort of problem that will only get worse, not better though.
Good luck with yours.
I hope my arriving iMac doesn't have this problem. But how can you tell anyway ???
If you mean the gradient issue on the 24" iMac it means that the left side of the screen is much brighter and it gradually darkens to the right. It will be most obvious on a light-colored or white background. There have been some cases of gradients so severe that it is obvious the moment you power it on though.
On the 20" iMac the gradient is vertical bottom to top.
I'd say you have very good odds of getting a good screen.
If you have to put on a white background and really look hard then still have to think about it to decide whether or not your machine has a gradient I suggest it's just fine.
Congratulations on the new machine by the way! I have been loving my own 24" iMac for 6 months now. There have been a few bumps along the way with the screen thing, etc. but it's still the finest computer I've ever owned by a mile.
One piece of advice: run a good detailed color calibration on your new machine for optimal viewing pleasure. I like SuperCal for the job myself although the Apple calibration utility in expert mode worked well in the past too.
Got my 24" iMac about a week ago and love it. Thanx for the link to SuperCal... I used it and my screen looks great. It looked good before but I can actually see a difference against the all white backgrounds!
Hope this is not hi jacking this great thread, but as some one who is contemplating buying an a new iMac 24 inch,
And will be trying it out in the store first, (agreed by the store manager), and as this is to be my first Mac I am hoping
Some one can run through click by click for me , any thing I can try while looking at the new iMac in the store to try and help me spot any possible problems especially screen gradient and dead pixel problems, its a full Two days trip to the Mac store so trying any thing out on the new iMac before returning home will help a great deal.
And will be trying it out in the store first, (agreed by the store manager), and as this is to be my first Mac I am hoping
Some one can run through click by click for me , any thing I can try while looking at the new iMac in the store to try and help me spot any possible problems especially screen gradient and dead pixel problems, its a full Two days trip to the Mac store
so trying any thing out on the new iMac before returning home will help a great deal.My fiancee's seems to be doing just fine. I'll have to do a more proper test on it, but nothing noticeable as her photography business hasn't hurt from anything on it.
Hope this is not hi jacking this great thread, but as some one who is contemplating buying an a new iMac 24 inch, And will be trying it out in the store first, (agreed by the store manager), and as this is to be my first Mac I am hoping Some one can run through click by click for me , any thing I can try while looking at the new iMac in the store to try and help me spot any possible problems especially screen gradient and dead pixel problems, its a full Two days trip to the Mac store
First of all, a safari browser trick, hide all the bars, toolbar (cmd |), bookmark bar (cmd-shift-b), status bar (cmd-/). The dock (cmd-option-d). Maximize your browser.
Then, try this page, and especially this pattern
http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/#angleGrey
This is probably the most demanding test on the screen. Even the Cinema display shows some gradient, but that's is within specification. So, I would suggest trying it on a cinema display in the store, take a good luck at it and tell yourself that is the best you can get.
Then, goto an iMac, and put up this same test pattern. If there is an obvious, I mean really obvious, obvious blue tint on the left and yellow tint on the right, that's the problem most of us are facing in this thread.
For dead pixels, you want to focus on the last three images. They are showing one color at a time, i.e., red, green blue. Now scan them through, if there is a stuck pixel, it's going to show up as a black dot. Doesn't matter which one, if there is a black dot, you should ask for a replacement.
Hope that helps.
But here in US, it is winter time and it gets very dry. So I am really not sure. But, for that kind of defects Apple should really just replace the LCD panel. I'm glad it worked out for us.
boonleng , Thanks for your reply , its appreciated .
My only problem is that the Apple store where I will have to go does not have an internet connection, so downloading the test you suggested is a problem, is there a way I can download some thing onto a USB thumb drive and take it with me to the Apple store, then use that to test out the display out ...?
Thanks again
My only problem is that the Apple store where I will have to go does not have an internet connection, so downloading the test you suggested is a problem, is there a way I can download some thing onto a USB thumb drive and take it with me to the Apple store, then use that to test out the display out ...?
Thanks again
I've had my 24 inch iMac for quite some time now and I haven't noticed a single problem. It could be in more recent products though.
But here in US, it is winter time and it gets very dry. So I am really not sure. But, for that kind of defects Apple should really just replace the LCD panel. I'm glad it worked out for us.
No, I meant that in my case this is something that happened between the time I took delivery and January of this year. The first 2 and a half months I had the machine it was brutally hot and humid here.
Anyway it was just a theory and like you said it worked out well in the end. I've got AppleCare in case anything else happens like that again between now and August, 2010.
It is winter here now too.
I like this gradient test as well.
You could easily save it to a thumb drive. I don't see any reason why you couldn't save the site Boonleng recommended to thumb drive as well.
In the gradient test above look to see that the grey is the same tint and luminance both left and right and that the white text in the middle is also uniform and legible.